Louise Brown

Louise is experienced in all aspects of matrimonial and family property and finance. Her experience in cases involving trusts and non-matrimonial property makes her an effective advocate and adviser in cases involving third party interests as well as disputes between cohabitees and family members.

She also advises and represents clients in cases involving claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Her background in civil proceedings means she is familiar with civil procedure and drafting pleadings. In addition to court and advisory work, she represents clients at mediation and can provide advice on appropriate methods of alternative dispute resolution.

Instructions include:

• Representing a husband in financial remedy proceedings involving a complex dispute between the parties and four interveners as to the husband’s share in the former matrimonial home.
• Advising and representing a wife in financial remedy proceedings where the parties’ teenage child had special needs and there were limited resources to re-house the parties.
• Representing an applicant at mediation in a case involving a dispute as to the parties’ respective shares in the former co-habitational home, being a property they purchased with the proceeds of sale from a succession of previous properties to which they had made various contributions.
• Representing a wife in a case involving non-disclosure and a dispute as to the extent and value of the parties’ interest in various parcels of land in India.

Louise represents clients in all manner of Private Law Children proceedings. Her experience in alternative dispute resolution makes her an effective negotiator in difficult private law cases involving high levels of hostility between the parties. She has also represented clients in wardship proceedings and cases involving relocation and removal from the jurisdiction.

Instructions include:

• Representing a mother facing an application in the High Court for change of residence following previous findings that she had made repeated unfounded allegations against the child’s father and other family members.
• Representing a father whose children who had been brought up having contact with someone else in the belief he was their father, the mother being implacably hostile to the children being told of their true parentage.
• Representing a mother seeking to re-locate abroad in a case where there was recent local authority involvement due to concerns as to her parenting including physical chastisement.
• Representing a father seeking contact with his son. The mother had subjected the child to numerous false allegations about his father resulting in him displaying “parental alienation syndrome” and refusing contact. The court was persuaded not to give up on contact and following a successful application to instruct an expert, and implementation of the strategies suggested by that expert, contact was successfully re-established despite mother’s ongoing hostility.